COPYRIGHT YOUR SCREENPLAY

There is only one way to really protect your screenplay from unauthorized use – copyrighting your screenplay with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Why Copyright Your Screenplay When You Can Simply Register It With the Writers Guild of America?

Registration with the Writers Guild of America doesn’t equal or amount to the protection you obtain when you copyright your screenplay. Registration with Writers Guild of America can supplement the copyright registration of your screenplay because it offers an extra layer of protection, such as protecting your writing credit in a credit arbitration dispute.

There are two principal reasons why you must copyright your screenplay:

1. If your screenplay is copied, stolen, etc., the only way for you to commence a copyright infringement action in federal court is by demonstrating to the court that your screenplay is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. No registration, no lawsuit. No exceptions. A screenplay registration with the Writers Guild of America isn’t enough to get you into federal court in a case where the copyright to your screenplay has been infringed.
   
2. When you copyright your screenplay you get a much longer period of protection than screenplay registration with the Writers Guild of America provides. Copyright registration of your screenplay protects your screenplay for your entire life plus another 70 years; while a screenplay registration with the Writers Guild of America is only good for 10 years.

COPYRIGHT YOUR SCREENPLAY NOW!

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Do I Need To Copyright My Screenplay After Each Draft?

The smart screenwriter will copyright his/her screenplay prior to sending it to agents, managers, production companies, or entering contests.

If at some point after the initial copyright of your screenplay, the characters, dialogue and/or structure change considerably, you may want to update you’re the copyright registration of your screenplay.

But, other than paying another $45 filing fee to the U.S. Copyright Office, you won’t have to pay Click&Copyright another dime. We’ll show you exactly how to update the copyright registration of your screenplay for FREE!

COPYRIGHT YOUR SCREENPLAY NOW!

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What The Experts Say About Copyright Registration of a Screenplay Versus
Registration with the Writers Guild of America

“[S]ince you can get actual statutory copyright for your screenplay there is nothing to be gained by filing a copy with the WGA (Writers Guild of America)…Be advised that mailing a copy to yourself provides little protection.”

Bill Craig, “Protecting Your Screenplay” (www.absolutewrite.com/screenwriting/protecting.htm)

“Clearly, any sensible writer will register a copyright on the work they produce; it’s the professional thing to do…WGA (Writers Guild of America) registration may be used as corroborating evidence in an infringement trial, but it lacks the powers of copyright in terms of providing who is the author of what in the bigger legal picture.”

Sean Rooney “Copyright: Is It Necessary?”
Screentalk Magazine (www.screentalk.biz/art025.htm)

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COPYRIGHT YOUR SCREENPLAY NOW!

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Not ready to copyright your screenplay yet? Check out some of our great screenwriting resources:

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